The following applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and made part of the present application:
1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/283,876, filed Apr. 1, 1999;
2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/282,956, filed Apr. 1, 1999; and 
3) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/283,175, filed Apr. 1, 1999, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,955 on Nov. 28, 2000.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to digital image data processing; and, more particularly, it relates to digital image printing.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional digital image printing systems commonly employ addressing schema that necessarily require a number of memory buffers in a disjointed arrangement. These conventional digital image printing systems are often hard-wired to accommodate a fixed number of ink jet nozzles. Scaleability across a wide number of digital image printers having varying ink jet nozzle numbers is difficult without modifying the design of addressing circuitry that performs the image data addressing and image data management.
Typically, conventional digital image printers employ a number of memory buffers to handle the image data for performing image data processing functions such as bit rotation. Bit rotation is required for many digital image ink jet printers, in that, the inherent, vertical mechanical configuration of the ink jet nozzles coupled with the typical horizontal arrangement of image data require bit rotation of the image data to provide proper reproduction of the image.
The conventional manner of employing a number of discrete memory buffers to perform bit rotation of segmented portions of the image data can result in a significant amount of unused memory in each of the discrete memory buffers. If one integrates over the total number of unused memory in each of the discrete memory buffers having a portion of unused memory, conventional digital image printers may possess a large amount of idle memory that is intrinsically disjointed. This disjointedness results in inefficient use of the digital image printer""s total processing resources. Utilizing these disjointed portions of unused memory in each of the discrete memory buffers is difficult, in that, a significant amount of effort is dedicated to memory management to use the available portions of the discrete memory buffers effectively.
Conventional digital image printers perform a number of functions, some of which are highly computationally intensive. The conventional manner of dedicating a fixed amount of memory to each of the functions inherently leads to unused portions of memory in a number of the discrete memory buffers. In addition, certain functions within the digital image printer require significantly more memory, at certain times, for their respective functions than is available. This typically results in slowed processing within the digital image printers.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional systems will become apparent to one of skill in the art through comparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.
Various aspects of the present invention can be found in an image data addressing system for a digital image printer. The image data addressing system operates on a plurality of image data. Each image datum of the plurality of image data has a predetermined form. In certain embodiments of the invention, the predetermined form of the image data is in a horizontal format. Ink jet type digital printers require the alignment of the image data in a horizontal fashion to accommodate the vertical, mechanical arrangement of the ink jet nozzles. A program that is adaptable to the specific components, circuitry and other characteristics of the digital image printer performs data addressing on the plurality of image data.
Another aspect of the invention is the use of a common, integrated memory that is used to perform the image data processing of the plurality of image data. The integrated memory stores a predetermined number of the plurality of image data for subsequent image processing. The manner in which the plurality of image data is stored is governed by the digital image printer adaptable program that is adaptable to the specific components, circuitry and other characteristics of the digital image printer. The plurality is of image data is stored for image data processing by the image data addressing system such that an unused, consecutive portion of the integrated memory is maintained. As more and more image data is required in the integrated memory for image data processing, then the unused, consecutive portion of the integrated memory decreases in size. However, during subsequent image data processing steps, the unused, consecutive portion of the integrated memory is increased as less image data is required, during a given moment in time, within the integrated memory for image data processing.
The image data addressing system of the present invention is compatible with digital image printers having various numbers of ink jet nozzles. The bit rotation that is performed using the image data addressing of the present invention is intrinsically scaleable for digital image printers having any number of ink jet print nozzles. The operation of the image data addressing system merely requires sufficient integrated memory to accommodate the ink jet digital printer of a set of ink jet printers having the largest number if ink jet print nozzles. For ink jet digital printers having fewer than the maximum number of ink jet print nozzles permitted by the integrated memory, the remaining unused, consecutive portion of the integrated memory is used to perform other operations and functions.
In certain embodiments of the invention, the image data addressing system is contained within a multi-functional peripheral. The multi-functional peripheral device is a peripheral device containing a plurality of internal devices wherein each of the devices operates either independently or cooperatively to perform image data processing on the plurality of image data. Alternatively, the image data addressing system is found in a stand alone device that performs primarily one single function, namely, image data addressing. In embodiments where there is unused, consecutive portion of the integrated memory, other functions required by the multi-functional peripheral are performed using the unused, consecutive portion of the integrated memory. It is desirable to perform highly computationally intensive functions using this unused, consecutive portion of the integrated memory. One particular function that is highly computationally intensive is motor control within an ink jet digital image printer. The motor control function typically requires a significant amount of memory, and given the availability of additional memory in the unused, consecutive portion of the integrated memory, the motor control function can be performed without dedicating a larger portion of memory to this specific function, thereby conserving valuable real estate in the circuitry of the multi-functional peripheral and in the motor control circuitry in particular.
Other aspects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.